Nearly a year after The Handmaid’s Tale wrapped, the show is gearing up for sequel series The Testaments. Like its predecessor, the dystopian drama is based on a novel by Margaret Atwood, and follows June Osborne’s (Elisabeth Moss) daughter Hannah (Chase Infiniti) – also known as Agnes.
However, the original show’s finale left some fans disappointed that June didn’t reunite with her child, and the showrunners expressed similar disappointment, revealing that it was due to the sequel series being in development.
“Given that our hands were tied, unfortunately, and we could not bring June and Hannah together because of The Testaments, which was something that we really struggled with,” Yahlin Chang told the Los Angeles Times last year.
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“I struggled with, speaking for myself – not giving people what they wanted or what I wanted, the idea of her telling the story to Hannah was just so emotionally captivating.”
Fellow showrunner Eric Tuchman added: “Knowing we couldn’t reunite June and Hannah, it was heartbreaking because we’re certainly aware of how much the audience was longing for that. It seemed to be what was driving June over the course of the whole series.”
He recalled that once they discovered they weren’t able to do that, there was a “boundary” they had to respect, and things changed.
“It shifted what her emotional engine became: What does it mean to keep going when you don’t get what you want and what you are hoping for, and what if that might never happen?” he continued.
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“It actually feels like a really powerful message now — that you keep going; you never stop loving and hoping and wishing and dreaming and whatever obstacles come your way, certainly as a parent, you’re going to do whatever it takes to keep moving forward.”
The Testaments is set years after The Handmaid’s Tale, and sees Agnes live a shielded existence in Gilead. However, the arrival of a new student spurs a realisation of the oppressive society she lives in, and Agnes begins a rebellion.
The Testaments releases on Disney+ and Hulu on 8 April. The Handmaid’s Tale streams on Hulu in the US and both Channel 4 and Prime Video in the UK.
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Â Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every ‘t’ and dotting every ‘i’ as a sub-editor.